Positron emission tomography and single-photon emission computed tomography in substance abuse research☆☆☆★
Abstract
Many advances in the conceptualization of addiction as a disease of the brain have come from the application of imaging technologies directly in the human drug abuser. New knowledge has been driven by advances in radiotracer design and chemistry and positron emission tomography (PET) and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) instrumentation and the integration of these scientific tools with the tools of biochemistry, pharmacology, and medicine. This topic cuts across the medical specialties of neurology, psychiatry, oncology, and cardiology because of the high medical, social, and economic toll that drugs of abuse, including the legal drugs, cigarettes and alcohol, take on society. This article highlights recent advances in the use of PET and SPECT imaging to measure the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic effects of drugs of abuse on the human brain.
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☆ Address reprint requests to Nora D. Volkow, Medical Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973.
☆☆ This work was carried out at Brookhaven National Laboratory under contract DE-AC02-98CH10886 and with the U. S. Department of Energy and supported by its Office of Biological and Environmental Research and also by the National Institutes of Health (National Institute on Drug Abuse and National Institutes of Neurological Diseases and Stroke).
★ 0001-2998/03/3302-0004$30.00/0
PII: S0001-2998(03)70016-6
doi:10.1053/snuc.2003.127300
© 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
